In the West, a bath is a place one goes to cleanse the body. In Japan, one goes there to cleanse the soul. Bathing in Japan is about much more than cleanliness: it is about family and community. It is about being alone and contemplative, time to watch the moon rise above the garden. Along with sixty full-color illustrations of the light and airy baths themselves, The Japanese Bath, delves into the aesthetic of bathing Japanese style and the innate beauty of the steps surrounding the process. The authors explain how to create a Japanese bath in your own home. A Zen meditation, the Japanese bath, indeed, cleanses the soul, and one emerges refreshed, renewed, and serene.

An intoxicating, illustrated guide to Japan's ritual of hot-tub bathing.

Beyond the scope of typical travel books on Japan, Getting Wet is a personal exploration of bathing culture, drawing on trips and encounters everywhere from secluded hot springs villages (one has as its claim to fame baths that are high in radioactivity), to a public bathing "theme park" in the heart of Tokyo. It delves under the surface to cover aspects like the ways of bathing in ancient times and the dos and don'ts of going au natural in contemporary Japan. The religious rites. The science of bathing - what hot water does to you and your skin, and why. The truth behind the claims of healing powers. The huge industry that the hot springs resorts have become. The unavoidable progression from simple nudity to the business of sex. And some reflections on how the bathing culture has changed over the past century and where it may be going. Finally, the book offers sage advice, some guidelines, sample day trips and other practical matters for those who actually may be thinking of testing out the waters.

A study of the significance of bathing in Japanese mythology and the historical development of communal bathing.